KG5.2s with ADCOM 200 watts?

[theryugo000001]

I've got some Kg5.2s with 96 dB efficiency rating and a maximum of 100 watts continuous power with a 500 watt peak------

I push them with a Yamaha 85 watt receiver that sounds good, but doesn't have enough power to fill our family room--about 25' x 15'.

I've been thinking about getting a used Adcom 555 200 watt amplifier-- there seems to be alot of them on eBay--

Would this amp be too much for the Klipsches? Do you have to have a preamp to operate it? or would I be ablr to run my Yamaha into the Adcom?

The room is not great for listening, because the speakers have to back up close to a sliding glass

window, and the floor is wood on concrete---

I have to put the power up to 3/4 power to fill the room--- Shouldn't more power do the trick?

[Ray Garrison]

Hi there.

I used to have an Adcom GFA-555 I used with my KG4.

It will not be too much for the KG5.2

You will need a preamp to operate it

If your Yamaha has a "preamp out" jack on the back panel, you can connect that to the GFA-555 and use the Yamaha as a preamp. If it does NOT have a pair of jacks CLEARLY LABELLED as preamp outputs, you will need a preamp. DO NOT USE SOME OTHER OUTPUT, LIKE TAPE OUT, INTO THE AMP - THOSE OUTPUTS ARE AT FULL SIGNAL LEVEL AT ALL TIMES WITH NO VOLUME CONTROL.

Now, having said that... the original Adcom GFA-555, while a really, really, Really good amp for its day, did not have the smoothest and cleanest high end around. With the tweeters in your KG5.2, if you don't exercise some care in selecting the preamp, you'll find the high end of the GFA-555 will drill holes in your teeth. Particularly given the way you describe your room. Great bass, though.

One good thing - if you buy a 555 off EBay and decide you want something different, the market for the 555 is sufficient that you should be able to sell it for whatever you buy it for.

Ray

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Music is art

Audio is engineering

Ray's Music System

[theryugo000001]

Thanks for the quick response---

I think the Yamaha has outputs for an equalizer, but not a preamp--

What do you mean by "use care' when selecting a preamp? Can you find a good preamp on eBay that would go well with the Adcom 555? What brands are the best finds?

If I get a good deal on the amp, I don't want to piss the wife off with a pricey preamp---

Should I get a new preamp or used?

[Ray Garrison]

>What do you mean by "use care' when selecting a preamp?

Actually, now that I'm trying to answer that question, maybe it's not so easy to explain after all... this is the fourth time I've started then cleared this response...

If we accept that preamps don't all sound pretty much the same (not a universal opinion!), what I meant was stay away from preamps that have a reputation for being on the detailed, bright sounding, tipped up high frequency side of the scale. To use two polar opposites as an example, an older used conrad johnson preamp would probably sound fine with the GFA-555 and the KG5.2 Might not have quite the bass impact and slam that another preamp would, but bass would be okay, and midrange and high end would be really, really good. Conversely, Adcoms own GFP-555 preamp, of the same vintage as the GFA-555, was (at least to my ears) somewhat shrill, with a hard, grainy kind of high end, but had great bass. I had an Acurus that had the same kind of sound as the Adcom. Into something with the kind of open-sounding high end the KG5.2 have, it's a bit much.

I'd try another post, titled something like "What's a good preamp for KG5.2 and a solid state amp?" and post it in both here and the Updating Older Speakers forum, and see what other folks suggest.

------------------

Music is art

Audio is engineering

Ray's Music System

This message has been edited by Ray Garrison on 04-16-2002 at 05:39 PM